USF athletic programs kicked off their seasons, with action ramping up on the soccer, cross country, volleyball and golf teams.
The women’s soccer team recovered from a close loss to Stanford, ranked second in the country, in their first game by defeating the University of California San Diego 3-0 and Northeastern University 1-0. The team continued their victory run against the University of California Irvine 2-1. The team will continue their season with tournaments against competitively ranked schools including the University of Southern California and Louisiana State University.
The men’s soccer team, who have a 0-4-2 record, played an away game against Sacramento State University on Sep. 12, where they lost 1-0, despite dominating the shot count. The Dons outshot the Hornets 23-6, with a 9-2 edge in shots on goal. Isaiah Easley led the charge with a career high of six shots on goal, while Gabriel Bracken Serra took four. Despite the effort, the Hornet’s goal in the fifteenth minute gave them the victory.
The cross country teams competed in the USF Invitational on Aug. 30, finishing in sixth place. Zach Elam led the men’s team with a ninth place finish in his USF debut, clocking a career-best time of 24:43.7 in the 8000 meter race. First year Ethan O’Shea finished sixteenth in his first Division I race. Nátalie Hluší led the Lady Dons with a tenth place finish, completing the 6000 meter course in 21:24.7.
Following the meet, Head Coach Jordan Carpenter expressed optimism for the upcoming season saying, “It’s a great way to start, to work on competing, and getting to test the fitness coming off the summer. It helps us start to plan out what are [going to] be some of the big goals down the road.”
The team will compete in the Pacific Collegiate Invitational on Sept. 20.
Volleyball spiked into action too, with a 3-0 victory against Texas A&M at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Tournament on Sep. 14, marking their third consecutive sweep.
The USF golf program is off to a strong start this season. On Sep. 10, the men’s team secured their first top five finish of the year at the USF and Howard University Intercollegiate match. Oscar Bredkjaer had a strong debut, tying for eleventh place individually, and Renato Naula tied for seventh place.
The men’s team will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate match on Sep. 21. The women’s team is set to compete in the Leadership and Golf Invitational at Chambers Bay Golf Course on Sep. 16 and 17. Coming off a successful previous season where three Dons earned WCC All Conference Team honors, the team looks to build on their fifth place finish in last year’s event.
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